Integrated services in action;

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Integrated Services
in
by Donald J. Bevis
At the recent Management Conference at The Home­stead,
there was a good deal of discussion of the "inte­grated
services concept." From the questions raised by
the participants in the conference and in other meetings,
it is clear that there is still a need for some clarification
of this concept, what it is and how it works. That is the
aim of this article.
Before going further, I suggest that you reread two
articles in the last issue (June, 1963) of THE
QUARTERLY—"Organizing the Firm for Growth" by
Robert Beyer and "Business Approach to Auditing" by
Walter H. Soderdahl. With this as background, we can
then deal with some of the questions raised most fre­quently
by TRB&S personnel and clients.
What is Integrated Services?
Integrated services is the term we have adopted to
describe our coordinated team approach to the financial
management problems of our clients, utilizing our knowl­edge
and experience in the specialized areas of account­ing
and auditing, taxes and management services. As you
will see, the key phrase in this definition of integrated
services is "coordinated team approach."
Many problem areas can be individually dealt with by
a reasonably curious, informed and skilled auditor. For
problem areas requiring special or highly-technical skills,
however, the auditor must draw from the array of highly-trained
technicians employed by the firm for just this
purpose. Experienced financial planners, tax specialists,
mathematicians, EDP specialists, etc., skilled in such
areas as mergers and acquisitions, tax planning, the
application of mathematical techniques to business prob­lems,
electronic data processing, and work measurement
studies, are available to give maximum assistance to
operating management under the concept of integrated
services. These talents are available on a coordinated basis.
What is the Need for Integrated Services?
For many years our practice has generally consisted of
auditing, tax, and management services in one combina­tion
or another. Each of the three has its own special
connotation when considered separately. As auditors, we
have developed a knowledge of control functions and
control techniques. We have also achieved a knowledge
of systems designed for financial information. Within the
management services field, we have acquired and are
continuing to develop the new capabilities required by
the demands of modern business. Today, our capabilities
include not only financial but other types of information
systems. Within the tax field, our talents go far beyond
the routine preparation of tax returns; they encompass
comprehensive tax planning on both an international and
a domestic basis.
With the growth and development of each of these
2 THE QUARTERLY